Beginner Portal

Welcome to our beginner portal! Disc golf is an enjoyable and highly accessible sport that almost anyone can play. This page is designed to give you a basic introduction to disc golf and get you out enjoying yourself as soon as possible!

We have provided 4 steps to get into disc golf:

Step 1 – Learn the basics

Step 2 – Get some discs!

Step 3 – Improve your game

Step 4 – Engage with the sport and the club

After the first 2 steps you are ready to get out throwing and having fun! The final two steps provide some more detail for those who want to keep developing their game and engage with our local disc golf community.

Step 1 – Learn the Basics – What is Disc Golf?

Disc golf is a sport that mixes the basic concepts and philosophy of golf with the enjoyment of throwing a frisbee (or disc). Each hole on the course features a tee off position where the player takes their first throw (at Barwon valley these are marked on our map on the large billboard, and are also marked by numbered posts around the course). The player then takes their next throw from where their disc lands. The player continues to throw until they reach the basket, which looks like this:

The basket has two basic features: a net of chains that are designed to ‘catch’ the disc and a basket underneath. The hole is considered complete when the disc enters the the basket or is lodged in the chains. If the disc strikes any part of the basket and falls out the hole is not yet complete and the player must continue putting!

Players count each throw they take until they complete the hole, and like golf the lower the score the better! At our course at Barwon Valley each hole is a par 3, aside from hole 4 which is a par 4.

And that is all you need to know to get started! You will, of course, need at least one disc, which leads us into step 2:

Step 2 – Get some discs!

Ideally disc golf is eventually played with a combination of three types of disc: drivers, mid-ranges and putters. But you can get started with just one disc!

Want to get started with one disc? A mid-range like the kite or the shark is a great compromise between a driver and a putter and can be used quite easily by beginners.

Want to get started with two discs? Why not try a driver and a putter! A leopard or a valkyrie is a good choice as a driver for beginners, while an aviar is a good choice for putting.

Want to get started with three discs? A driver, mid-range and putter are an excellent combination. A valkyrie – kite – aviar combination, for example, would be a good starting set.

More discs are available in our online proshop and we provide free delivery in Geelong. If you would like some advice on which disc to purchase, feel free to contact us at: proshop@geelongdiscgolf.com

Once you have your disc or discs, give it a go!

(a quick note on safety – disc golf courses like the one at the barwon are shared with other players and park users. It is important to make sure that there are no other park users in the line of your throw before you throw! If you are playing with others, it is expected that the player furthest from the basket will throw first and other players will wait for them before moving beyond their lie. A safe round is also a fun round!)

Step 3 – Improve your game

Most of us have thrown a Frisbee before and have a basic idea of what to do. There is nothing wrong with getting out, throwing and learning through experience. But if you would like to improve your game there are also many resources available that can help. The internet can provide a great deal of information about disc golf and throwing techniques. There are many good YouTube videos that help in learning the basic throwing techniques.

Firstly, this video provides a good explanation of how discs typically fly:

One other great way to learn is to play with other disc golf players! You can learn a lot simply from seeing how other players approach the game. League day is a great opportunity to meet and play with other players, which leads us into the last step:

Step 4 – Engage with the sport and the club

Why not join one of our monthly league days? League days are held on the first Sunday of each month and are advertised on our facebook page. League day is open to players of all skill levels – some players have thrown their first disc on league day! We are an open and welcoming club and love to have new players join us. Players are provided with a handicap after their first league day which means that everyone can compete no matter their skill level.

If you want to take your interest further there are yearly tournaments in most states around Australia. The Victorian Open is held in the first half of the year, and more information will be available closer to the event.

Want to see some top players in action? A large number of tournament coverage is available on youtube. Some of the top ranked disc golf players include Paul Mcbeth, Simon Lizotte (who visited Barwon Valley in February 2015!), Ricky Wysocki, David Feldberg, Will Schusterick and Nathan Doss. As a special treat, you can watch below the final round of the 2015 Aussie open – the first disc golf major held in Australia!